Two strangers meet on a bus along a dusty road in rural France. Tati is a tough, work-worn widow, who runs the farm her late husband left behind, while trying to keep out of the way of her predatory in-laws. Jean is an odd, quiet man, recently out of prison, with nowhere to go....

Certain details of the case were etched more sharply than others in Maigret\"s memory. Even years later he could recall the particular taste and smell of the rain shower in Rue Caulaincourt as keenly as a childhood memory....

\"Maigret had questioned thousands, tens of thousands of people in the course of his career, some occupying important positions, others who were more famous for their wealth, and others still who were considered the most intelligent of international criminals....

\"At what point in the day could the note have been slipped into his pocket, his left breast pocket? It was an ordinary sheet of glazed squared paper, probably torn out of an exercise book. The words were written in pencil, in a regular handwriting that looked to him like a woman\"s. For pity\"s sake, ask to see the patient in room 15....

Conflict rather than harmony probably reigned in eight out of ten of the still magnificent houses that surrounded the park. But he had rarely had the opportunity to breath such a strained atmosphere as the one between these walls....

Maigret plunges into the murky Parisian underworld in book twenty-nine of the new Penguin Maigret series. \"That shoeless foot looked incongruous lying on the pavement next to another foot encased in a shoe made of black kid leather. It was naked, private . . ....

\"You\"re a good soul, inspector, and when you\"re up against the second-rate criminals you get here in Paris, you\"re a crack policeman. But this business isn\"t for you. These guys play rough and they may hurt you. Just drop it! What concern is it of yours, anyway?...

\"What else did they have to do with their days? They ambled around casually. From time to time, they paused, not because they were out of breath but to admire a tree, a house, the play of light and shadow, or a face....

\"Maigret looked at him in some confusion, wondering if he waas dealing with a skilful actor or, on the contrary, with a sickly little man who found consolation in a subtle sense of humour.\" A series of anonymous letters lead Maigret into the wealthy household of an eminent laywer and a curious game of cat and mouse with Paris high society....

Standing here at the window in the middle of the morning, vaguely observing the comings and goings in the street, he had a feeling that reminded of certain days in his childhood, when his mother was still alive and he was off school because he had the \"flu or it was the end of term....

For the first time in his career Inspector Maigret receives written summons to the Prefect\"s office where he learns that he has been accused of assaulting a young woman. With his career and reputation on the line, Maigret must fight to prove his innocence. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret on the Defensive....

\"He opened the door for her and watched her walk away down the huge corridor, then hesitate at the top of the stairs. Heads turned as she passed....

\"Maigret had never been comfortable in certain circles, among the wealthy bourgeoisie where he felt clumsy and awkward ... Built like a labourer, Oscar Chabut had hauled himself up into this little world through sheer hard work and, to convince himself that he was accepted, he felt the need to sleep with most of the women....

When a tramp is recovered from the Seine, after being badly beaten, Maigret must delve into the man\"s personal circumstances to figure out just who wanted to kill him. This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret and the Dosser and Maigret and the Bum....

\"He had seldom been so perplexed by human beings. Would a psychiatrist, a teacher or a novelist...have been better placed to understand characters who had suddenly materialized from another century?\" Maigret is called to the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper....